Border Patrol officers are frequently finding discarded ladders along a stretch of the border wall between Hidalgo and Granjeno in Texas, according to Texas Monthly.
There are multiple sections of the wall already built along this stretch of the border and while rope/PVC ladders are more popular upriver, some of the ladders being found along the Hidalgo-Granjeno section of wall are wooden and cost just $5 to make.
According to Texas Monthly, this section of wall alone cost taxpayers $27 million (AU$35 million) per 1.3km to build, with some calling the border wall a waste of money if it can be beaten for as little as $5 (Less than AU$7).
Scott Nicol, an activist and local Texan, has spent years searching for discarded ladders used by wall-jumping migrants along the border.
He is opposed to the border wall being built and says it is “absurd” to think they can stop anyone from entering the US.
“These ladders are probably $5 worth of hardware,” Mr Nicol told Texas Monthly.
“Unlike the wall, these ladders are functional.
“Border walls are just backdrops for politicians who want to rile up their voters.”
Despite the backlash, advocates of the border wall maintain it serves a useful purpose.
Chris Cabrera, a McAllen-based Border Patrol agent, says while the wall won’t stop everyone, it will slow them down.
“Nine times out of 10 we are going to catch them,” Mr Cabrera told Texas Monthly.
This content first appear on 9news